excerpt
How Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg, and Andreessen—Four Billionaire Techno-Oligarchs—Are Creating an Alternate, Autocratic Reality
In an excerpt from his new book, The End of Reality, the author warns about the curses of AI and transhumanism, presenting the moral case against superintelligence.
You Blockhead
Elon Musk Prepares to Turn X (Formerly Twitter) Into a Trolls’ Playground
The social media platform's ‘block’ feature is to be deleted, much to the chagrin of just about everyone.
Tech
Twitter Can’t Seem to Buck Its Advertisers-Don’t-Want-to-Be-Seen-Next-to-Nazis Problem
Now rebranded under Elon Musk as X, the social media company’s campaign to convince big brands that they can trust them is not going well.
Media
Is an AI-Media Legal Fight Brewing?
IAC founder Barry Diller and others are reportedly weighing legal action against AI platforms for using their content without permission.
Bye Bye Birdie
Elon Musk Bids “Adieu” to Twitter Brand, Wants To Change Logo to “X”
The move is the latest in a number of controversial changes Musk has brought to the social media platform.
excerpt
Booth Babes, Bull Rides, and Volcano Bonds: A Walk Through Miami’s Bizarre Bitcoin Symposium
Thousands of crypto boosters, from Tucker Carlson to Peter Thiel to Francis Suarez, flocked together to celebrate their vision of financial utopia. But the scene itself, as Ben McKenzie and Jacob Silverman chronicle in an excerpt from their new book, Easy Money, had all the hallmarks of a relatively dim dystopia.
If You’ve Got the Ruler, Elon Musk Has the Dick: Billionaire Challenges Mark Zuckerberg to “Literal Dick Measuring Contest”
Will people choose Twitter over Threads if Elon Musk’s penis is bigger than Mark Zuckerberg’s? Musk seems to think so.
Tech
Twitter vs. Threads: The Musk-Zuck Cage Match That’s Actually Happening
Elon Musk and Twitter’s lawyers look ready for a legal fight over Meta’s new text-based microblogging app that Mark Zuckerberg said already had 70 million sign-ups by Friday morning.
TWITTER TRAUMA
Elon Musk Sets Limits On Twitter, Claims “Data Scraping” and “System Manipulation”
“Step away from the phone to see your friends & family,” says the owner of the beleaguered social media platform.
Tech
Elon Musk, Self-Proclaimed “Free Speech Absolutist,” Says Twitter Will Treat “Cisgender” as a Slur
The billionaire is not CEO anymore—and yet, he’s seemingly still changing the platform’s rules on a dime.
Media
“Don’t Get Screwed Again”: News Publishers Are Banding Together in the Face of AI Threat
Industry leaders are publicly sounding the alarm and privately negotiating with the likes of OpenAI and Microsoft to get paid for their content. As News Corp CEO Robert Thomson has warned: “We need to be more collectively assertive.”
Tech
Elon Musk’s Antics Aren’t Helping Linda Yaccarino Turn Twitter Around
As the new CEO embarks upon luring high-paying advertisers back to Twitter, the site’s old leader is still stuck on the same recklessness that drove them away in the first place.
AI
The Senate Is Getting a Crash Course on How to Regulate AI—From the AI Industry
Congress might sound alarmed about the rising threat of the technology. But as of now, it appears destined to repeat its past mistakes.
Big Tech
YouTube Reverses Ban On 2020 Election Denial As 2024 Race Ramps Up
The policy change comes as Trump makes election denial a core plank of his campaign.
Tech
New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino Warned Advertisers Off Social Media Pretty Darn Recently
Naturally, as an advertising executive at NBCUniversal, Yaccarino said network television was the only safe place for advertisers to go. Will she be able to sell the opposite message?
Tech
Elon Musk Is Done Running Twitter. It Was Terrible While It Lasted
After seven months of chaos, the billionaire is passing the baton to someone who could help steer the company out of financial ruin—but doom Musk’s reputation as a right-wing hero.
Media
Tucker Carlson’s Twitter Show Could Make Elon Musk’s Advertiser Headache a Whole Lot Worse
While the former host was at Fox News, his prime-time show became radioactive for much of corporate America. Who’s to say the same won’t happen at Twitter?
Writers Strike
“The First Skirmish in a New War”: Why AI Should Be Central in the Writers Strike
The picket lines in Hollywood could be a harbinger of future fights over industries threatened by AI. Will it take writers, directors, and actors to save all of us from the robot apocalypse?
Media
NPR’s Twitter Boycott Seems to Really Be Getting Under Elon Musk’s Skin
The billionaire CEO threatened to “reassign” NPR’s Twitter account to “another company” over the outlet’s boycott on posting—which Musk himself prompted.
Twitter
A Lot of People Are Rushing to Say They Did Not Pay for Elon Musk's Twitter Blue
Celebrities, journalists and institutions were given Twitter Blue subscriptions without signing up—and they want people to know.
Media
Elon Musk Is Really Not Helping His Cause of Bringing Advertisers Back to Twitter
The Twitter chief seemingly admitted that the company messed up by labeling NPR as “state-affiliated,” but didn’t immediately change it.